Memories
by ChocoPokki
Summary: A short story about the Matsuoka siblings dealing with their father's anniversary, and sharing memories of him.


_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own any of the characters, sadly. And all rights reserved to the copyright holders._

_Hope you enjoy my first Free! fanfic and my RinGo (with no 'u', just an apple XD)... It's not incest though._

* * *

**Memories**

"I'm home."

"Welcome back, onii-chan!" Gou greeted her brother with a wide cheerful smile. He yawned as he took off his shoes, then proceeded to ask if their mother was back home from her work. Gou answered as she offered to help her brother with his bag "No. She usually comes back around nine. I'll make you dinner tonight." Rin looked up at her once he heard the last part. He gave her an annoyed look and sighed, "I think I'll just go straight to bed."

"How rude! I can cook very well now!"

"I can't take any risks, Gou. There's a local tournament coming up. I need to be in top health."

Gou pouted and followed her big brother up the stairs. Midway, he turned back, took his bag from her, and went on by his own. Gou mumbled and went back to the kitchen.

* * *

Next day the siblings and their mother sat down for breakfast together, all dressed in black. They chatted a little, mostly talking about Rin and how he's doing in school. They exchanged couple of smiles every now and then, but nothing made the atmosphere any lighter to them.

It was their father's anniversary.

* * *

Gou was the last to sprinkle water on their father's gravestone. She put down the bucket softly and took few steps back to stand next to her brother. Their mother lit some incense and walked to stand next to her children. Quietly they prayed for their father. The only sound that broke the silence was their mother's muffled cry. Once Gou finished her prayers she walked to her mother and patted her back before hugging her and whispering to her some few things to try and calm her down. Rin gently placed a hand over his mother's head, and patiently waited for her to stop crying. This was a scene that occurred every year since Rin and Gou were in their final years in elementary school.

"When we were young, mom never cried. But as we got a bit older she became like this... It must have been so hard for her to stay strong while taking care of us all alone... And she's naturally sensitive." Gou said while running her index finger around her tea cup's rim.

Rin stayed quiet, staring out of the window. Slowly he got up and walked to the kitchen sink to put his empty tea cup. "It's still too hard on her. She should have taken the day off." he said.

"It's hard on all of us, onii-chan. Especially both of you since you were close to dad and have many nice memories with him. I'm the one with the least memories with dad, and most of the memories I have are fading away... In few years I will be unable to remember his voice anymore... I... I feel like a stranger... I..." Gou paused when she felt that her voice was going to waver as she fought her tears.

Rin stayed silent and leaned over the edge of the sink, waiting for her to finish.

"I... I'm jealous of you. I wish I remembered dad as vividly as you." she managed to say after couple of seconds. Then she gave in to her tears and started crying.

Rin felt his heart and stomach clench simultaneously at the sound of his little sister's cry. He took a deep breath and walked to her. He pulled a nearby chair, grabbed the tissue box that was sitting on the small dining table, sat on the chair and rubbed her back slowly. Gou cried for a while and almost emptied the tissue box. After blowing her nose for one last time she turned to Rin and told him that she's fine now with a weak smile. Rin moved his hand up her back and rested it on her head which made her turn to face him, and in almost a whisper he said "Yes you are. You'll definitely be fine. You're the source of this family's strength, Gou. You keep me and mom sane, you understand that?"

"Onii-chan..."

"Now go wash your face, I'll order pizza, and we'll go through all the albums in the house, okay?"

"... Will you be this nice every time I cry?"

"Don't make me take back my offer. Gou."

"Sorry!" she said with a smile and got up to head to the bathroom. Just as she reached the door opening to the small corridor she walked back and hugged Rin from behind. "Just... What are you doing?" he asked startled. "Thank you." she answered and let go of him and ran out.

* * *

Few days later, everything was back to normal. Rin was back in Sumezuka, Gou was in full energy and smiling cheerfully again, and their mother was as strong as she had always been.

"I'm home." Gou announced happily as she came back home from school. Today she was in higher spirits since it was the only day in the week that her mother wasn't on the evening shift.

"Welcome back. Dinner is almost ready."

"I smell something delicious and sweet! Apple pie?"

"Apple and apricot pie."

"I so love it when you're home for dinner, mom!"

"Me too. We should call Rin-kun later. Oh yeah! He sent you something. It's in your room."

"Sent what?"

"I have no idea. It felt like a book or something."

"Will go check it."

Gou ran to her room, she was too curious to know what her brother would send her. That brother who doesn't bother send her an e-mail or even reply to her e-mails. She entered her room and a parcel was on her bed next to her neatly-folded laundry. She picked up the parcel and sat at the corner of the bed examining it quickly before opening it. Inside was a notebook and an envelop with nothing written on it. She put the notebook down as she decided to check the envelop first. A small letter was inside.

_"To Gou,_

_You're not the only one whose memories of dad are fading. Me too. Knowing that a time would come when I can't remember anything very well, I decided to write down everything I remember of dad. By "everything" I mean everything. I was an elementary kid with too much free time in the winter breaks after all. _

_Rin._

_P.S. You better __not__ send me midnight e-mails about my handwriting when I was a kid."_


End file.
